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Indian markets ended higher for a fourth straight session on Monday boosted by metal stocks on the back of strong commodity prices and as mortgage lender, HDFC extended gains after better-than-expected quarterly results. Today, the start of session is likely to be gap-down amid sell-off in the global markets. There will be some cautiousness as domestic rating agency Crisil warned India's economic growth may slip to 8.2 per cent if the second wave peaks in end of June, maintaining its baseline estimate of 11 per cent uptick in activity. Traders will be concerned as State Bank of India’s (SBI)’s economic research arm warned that a huge buildup of carry positions could negatively impact the exchange rate and lead to inflation. However, some respite may come later in the day as India continues to witness decline in the number of daily Covid-19 cases. The country recorded 329,517 infections, taking its tally to almost 23 million, Wordometer showed. On a positive note, more than 19 million patients have recovered. Some support may also come as to expedite procurement of critical Covid-19 supplies, the government relaxed the General Financial Rules (GFR) and removed all restrictive provisions to enable larger participation and faster procurement. Bank Guarantees have been waived off for all procurement. Besides, investors will keep an eye on the results of the MSCI May 2021 semi-annual index review, which is set to be released later in the day. Meanwhile, market regulator Sebi came out with a fresh proposal for segregation and monitoring of collateral at client level amid instances of misuse of client collateral by trading members. Banking  stocks will  be in focus as the Reserve Bank came out with modified guidelines that allow sound private sector banks to undertake government business, whether at the Centre or in states. According to the modified norms, scheduled private sector banks, which are not under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework of the RBI, can undertake government business after executing an agreement with the central bank. There will be some reaction in insurance companies stocks with Irdai data showing that the gross direct premium written by non-life insurance companies rose by over 22 per cent in April this year to Rs 17,309.54 crore.

The US markets ended lower on Monday as inflation jitters drove investors away from market-leading growth stocks in favor of cyclicals, which stand to benefit most as the economy reopens. Asian markets are trading in red on Tuesday as Wall Street retreated on worries about accelerating inflation, prompting investors to cut back on their exposure to growth-focused stocks on bets of higher interest rates in the not-too-distant future.

Back home, Indian equity benchmarks extended winning streak for fourth straight day and ended the Monday’s trade with a gain of over half a percent amid fall in daily Covid-19 cases. Markets started the day with significant gains as traders remain encouraged after the Union Health Ministry said more than 72 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, while over 46 lakh doses will be received by them within the next three days. Union Health Ministry also stated that India is the fastest country globally to administer 17 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. China took 119 days while the US took 115 days for reaching the same landmark.  The vaccination drive in India was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2. Subsequently, it was opened for different age groups. Market participants continued to buy risky assets amid reports that corporate India is stepping up to shoulder coronavirus-induced challenges by lending a helping hand through various initiatives like testing, vaccination camps, financial aid, medical help and resource access for COVID-19 care. Market traded in fine fettle throughout the day as investors took some support from Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India is committed to concluding negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement and investment protection pact with European Union (EU) together at an early date. Adding more optimism, data of the commerce ministry showed continuing a positive growth, India's exports grew by 80 per cent to $7.04 billion during the first week of this month. Exports during May 1-7 last year stood at $3.91 billion and $6.48 billion in the same week of May 2019. Sentiments remained upbeat till end of the trade as Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) data showed that country’s foreign exchange reserves swelled by $3.913 billion to reach $588.02 billion in the week ended April 30, 2021. In the previous week ended April 23, the reserves had risen by $1.701 billion to $584.107 billion. Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 295.94 points or 0.60% to 49,502.41, while the CNX Nifty was up by 119.20 points or 0.80% to 14,942.35.

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